Dead Set

[-Spooky-]

Important for some kind of emergency news and stuff. make sense.

[Del]

this article, while bashing a remake of a disaster survival tv show, details how the comms infrastructure would hold up in the UK

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/28 ... survivors/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

GSM base stations run on normal mains power, so will fail soon after the grid fails. Local batteries may allow an hour or two's grace and base stations in hospitals, or any place with its own generated power, will last as long as the local power does. However, the GSM standard is based on centralised control - the connections to which could easily disappear once the national power grid goes down.

Not that most of us will be able to make a call anyway: in an emergency the government will likely invoke ACCOLC (Access Overload Control), which limits outgoing mobile calls to those registered with the network operators by government agencies.

Fixed infrastructure should fare much better. Normal phones receive power down the phone line from the local exchange, and those automatically switch to batteries and/or generators, and should be operational for 14 days after the national grid disappears

So as long as the zombies dont chew thru the phone cables, we should be able to phone grandma and tell her to stay in the closet under the stairs till help arrives

[Jonnywhy]

this article, while bashing a remake of a disaster survival tv show, details how the comms infrastructure would hold up in the UK

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/28 ... survivors/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

GSM base stations run on normal mains power, so will fail soon after the grid fails. Local batteries may allow an hour or two's grace and base stations in hospitals, or any place with its own generated power, will last as long as the local power does. However, the GSM standard is based on centralised control - the connections to which could easily disappear once the national power grid goes down.

Not that most of us will be able to make a call anyway: in an emergency the government will likely invoke ACCOLC (Access Overload Control), which limits outgoing mobile calls to those registered with the network operators by government agencies.

Fixed infrastructure should fare much better. Normal phones receive power down the phone line from the local exchange, and those automatically switch to batteries and/or generators, and should be operational for 14 days after the national grid disappears

So as long as the zombies dont chew thru the phone cables, we should be able to phone grandma and tell her to stay in the closet under the stairs till help arrives

Hehe fair enough. But...they couldn't use the landline in Deadset.

I'm nit picking, I'll stop. Like I said, Charlie Brooker has done an excellent job with it.